We see a lot of advertising for schools that offer “accelerated” degrees.  This can be misleading to some if you don’t know what you are getting into.  As someone who has just graduated from Kaplan, and had no transfer credits going into the program, I wanted to provide some perspective on this topic.

Keep in mind that there are a LOT of variables (transfer credits, extra courses, work experience credit, etc…), but I am providing my perspective based on my schedule.

When Kaplan (or any other school) says “accelerated” or uses any like-term to insinuate that you can get your degree quicker than the normal four years, they are correct, but they don’t usually go into too much detail.  “Accelerated” has been reduced to a marketing buzz word in the distance education world in order to get more people to sign up.  I am not saying that they are being misleading, but people need to know what they are getting into if they are making a decision based on the marketing.

I started at Kaplan in October 2003.  I graduated in October 2007.  That’s exactly four years.  During that time, I twice took a term off (for a total of about 6 months, based on 3-month terms).  That’s a minimum of four classes that I could have taken during that term.  I also failed one class and had to take it over.  That set me back a little bit.

My schedule was as follows:

OCTOBER 2003 – 3 classes
JANUARY 2004 – 3 classes
APRIL 2004 – 3 classes
JULY 2004 - 3 classes (Failed one)
JANUARY 2005 – 2 classes
APRIL 2005 – 2 classes
OCTOBER 2005 – 3 classes
FEBRUARY 2006 – 2 classes
MAY 2006 – 2 classes
JULY 2006 – 2 classes
OCTOBER 2006 – 2 classes
JANUARY 2007 – 2 classes
MARCH 2007 – 2 classes
JUNE 2007 – 2 classes
AUGUST 2007 – 3 classes

If I had taken only 2 classes each term (the recommended way to do it), and not taken two terms off during the course of my degree program, I would have been there a little longer than four years.  If I taken the schedule above and not taken the two terms off, I would have completed my degree in 3 ½ years.

So the “accelerated” part entails the student working extra hard to take some additional courses in order to finish early.  Furthermore, it also takes into consideration any transfer credits you may have.  The hard part is that getting credits that will transfer.  Assume that you won’t get to transfer in anything, and schedule from there.

The bottom line is that you need to schedule your classes well in order to take advantage of a less-than-four-year plan.  Also, while taking 3 classes at a time at Kaplan is very feasible, it does add a noticeable workload.  It takes time and dedication to get them all done.

Plan well.  Ask questions.